No brand loyalty here but worked as a circuitry/PC board supervisor/designer for a major detector Mfg.. I'm open to questions, but not from biased, quarrelsome people, or company shills. Thanks

683

256 times

Innovation

Re: Most popular metal detector brand?

Garrett makes most of it's money on security detectors, wands, walk through, and pinpointers. Their personal metal detectors have taken a bit of a dive lately, due primarily to all the newer stuff coming out. I wish they would upgrade like most of the other mfgs., but maybe they don't really care, or maybe it has to do with copyright laws?

No brand loyalty here but worked as a circuitry/PC board supervisor/designer for a major detector Mfg.. I'm open to questions, but not from biased, quarrelsome people, or company shills. Thanks

683

256 times

Innovation

Re: Most popular metal detector brand?

Here in Oregon almost every detector on beaches or parks is a Whites, with Fisher 2nd, Compass 3rd, and I see a Bounty Hunter now and then. Of course this is Whites home base, but Teknetics, Fisher, Compass, and a few other short-lived companies all had their beginnings in Oregon. This soil here is the best for testing bad ground, and it may be why.

I have only seen two Minelabs in parks, only one on salt beaches (mine), a few in pawn shops, and I haven't seen Garretts in at least 30 years, it being mine. Tesoros are fairly rare here too. When people ask me what I'm using, they always say; "Is that one of them (those) Whites"?

Whites is a very good detector but I often wonder if their popularity is because of their aggressive and frequent sales pitch on TV? Minelab has a lot of hard-sell too, but it doesn't seem to reap much reward in Oregon and Washington State.

BTW, I am in the process of inventing something for old and older metal detectors, that's why the question. I want to know where I should market it. Sorry, I can't release any info, that would spoil things for me..

Re: Most popular metal detector brand?

Garrett must have been missed out because at the period of the poll and for years each side Garrett had been making to much money from its other activities and really paid little attention to the hobby detectorist.

The other thing is popular doesn't mean good. Heavy advertising and dropping free detectors in the right places in exchange for good field tests and forum posts gives a false impression of how good a product is. Credit should be given for longer than average warranty periods and I don't like the fairly new habit of saying right your detector is ten years old and we are not even going to look at it from the point of view of repairs.

A better type of poll would be based on not the number of a detector (or brand) sold but on the satisfaction with it and whether its still in use a few years down the line or has been speedily sold on. All 160 odd detector manufacturers would also have to be included.

Re: Most popular metal detector brand?

Originally Posted by U.K. Brian

A better type of poll would be based on not the number of a detector (or brand) sold but on the satisfaction with it and whether its still in use a few years down the line or has been speedily sold on. All 160 odd detector manufacturers would also have to be included.

the Problem here that I see, you would
need to only talk to people who Know every brand & Model.

Otherwise, you would have Feelings Involved.

Most people Love what they used a long time,
& Hate what they Just picked up. Especially
if it's a Top of the Line & Confusing at first.

Example Sovereign vs Explorer

11 Years with the Sovereign had me thinking
there was Nothing Better.

Got an Explorer SE & almost Retired from Detecting
because My Sovereign Needed Work that couldn't be done,
& the Explorer in my Mind, couldn't Match it in a Hundred Years.

After a year now, I'm Liking the Explorer.

Would still Like a 100% working Sovereign,
But only for special Projects, Like Finding
things for People.